User interaction based telephone systems rely upon automated systems to provide user navigation. For example, consumer oriented service providers and vendors such as insurance companies, credit card companies rely on the policy or account holders to call into the company telephone system to perform various transactions such as providing account information, payment information, and other account management options. For example, there exists presently interactive voice responsive systems by service providers that provide the account holders with a toll free telephone number or a local telephone number for the user to call in to provide the desired information to the account holders.
In this manner, the service providers and vendors are able lower the overhead associated with maintaining call centers and support personnel to directly interact with their customers. Indeed, by having a well structured interactive voice response systems, vendors and service providers are able to substantially eliminate costs associated with providing consumer support.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a caller interaction with an IVR system using a telephone call. Referring to the Figure, at step 201, the IVR system detects and receives a user or account holder telephone call into the IVR system. This step may include a standard telephone call using a POTS line or using a broadband connection with Voice over IP capability. Typically, the telephone number is provided to the user by the service provider or vendor at the time the corresponding account for the user is opened by the user, and which is generally given as the number to call for customer support.
Referring again to the Figure, at step 202. the IVR system performs user authentication procedure. This step generally requires the IVR system to prompt the user to enter the user's account identification number and a corresponding password associated with the account. Upon successful entry by the user using the telephone key pads (or provided verbally if the IVR system is equipped with voice recognition option), the user navigation of the IVR system begins at step 203 by first, providing the user with a list of options for locating the user's intended transaction. For example, at step 203, the IVR system may provide the user with a list of options and the corresponding entry associated with the telephone key pad for user selection, and subsequent to the user selection option, the IVR system may provide a set of additional options to the user, again prompting the user to make a selection and to enter that using the user's telephone key pad.
In this manner, using the telephone key pad as the input terminal, the user, following the instructions from the IVR system, navigates the IVR system to reach the desired location in the IVR system to perform the intended transaction (e.g., payment transaction, account balance inquiry transaction).
Referring again to FIG. 2, at step 204, at the end of each subroutine or selection of an option by the user, the IVR system prompts the user to select, as one of the options, an entry (for example, “pressing the “*” key on the telephone key pad), to inform the IVR system that the user has completed the desired transaction. If at step 204 the IVR system receives the prompt associated with completed user transaction, then at step 205, the IVR system notifies the user that the transaction is completed, optionally provides a reference number associated with the transaction to the user, and terminates the telephone call. However, if at step 204, the user prompt indicates that the user transaction is not complete, then the routine returns to step 203 to allow the user to continue navigation through the IVR system.
The IVR system generally resident at the vendor site interacts with the CRM database to retrieve and store information associated with the user navigation of the IVR system and the associated transaction.
However, for the account holders and consumers, navigating through the interactive voice response systems can be frustrating, and even unsuccessful at times. This is mainly due to the interactive voice response system requiring the account holders to follow a set number of steps or procedures to reach the location in the interactive voice response system that corresponds to the account holder's desired transaction. For example, if the account holder calls into the interactive voice response system to check account balance, the interactive voice response system prompts the account holder to enter various key inputs using the account holder's telephone in order to verify the account holder, the proper account associated with the account holder, and the transaction that the account holder intends to perform in that specific call. If the account holder wants to perform a payment transaction associated with the account, the navigation through the interactive voice response system may include a different set of key entries prompted to the account holder for entry by the system. Further, if the telephone call drops during the navigation procedure by the account holder, the account holder may have to call in again and repeat the navigation procedure from the beginning to reach the intended transaction.
Indeed, it can be seen that the navigation through the interactive voice response system may be time consuming and frustrating for the account holder.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and a system which allows easy and efficient navigation through an interactive voice response system for performing the desired transactions.